How?
by Invader Phoenix
Summary: I'm running for my life. The streets are lined with destruction. But I know I'm the real reason why he did this...
1. Destruction

I'm running for my life. The streets are lined with destruction. He'd gone too far, but I know that I'm the real reason why he did this.

He'd been going mad lately, but I didn't ever suspect him to do anything like this. After all, he was always kind of insane. But insane enough to go on the warpath and cause this much wreckage? No.

I duck behind a building in hopes of losing him. It's as though he didn't care about anything. After all the time he'd spent here, he's fine with watching so much be destroyed at his own hands. Does he have any regret? Any sorrow for what he had become? Would he ever come to his senses and realize his own lunacy?

He wanted revenge, I know that. For all the cruel treatment he endured at school, for being an outcast, for what I'd done to him. Mostly what I'd done to him. We were enemies, so of course we did some awful things to each other. But he snapped like a twig and did this.

I can hear him coming. I move quietly, controlling my breathing, ready to run like the wind if he comes closer. He was good at tracking me, and I'm certain that it will be quite a while before I manage to shake him.

He is more determined than ever to destroy me. First he'd done heavy damage to the school and many other buildings for his initial revenge. Then he began tracking me. I was out of the house, not doing much of anything, when I saw what he'd done. He saw me and began his pursuit. I don't know exactly how I've made it this far without getting killed.

I look around for him. I can't see him. I begin running toward a ruined laboratory. Maybe in the debris I can find something to defend myself.

As I search frantically for anything I can use, I hear him approaching on metal legs. I prepare to run, but he's already upon me. He knocks me down and turns me until I'm flat on my back. He looks at me with a mixture of anger and triumph. He's elevated far above my head with metal spider legs protruding from the device on his back. He raises one into the air, poised to strike.

I look up in horror. "N-no… please…don't do it… no…"

"Sorry, Zim," Dib says. "But I don't give second chances."


	2. Discovery

**YAY! I finally decided to continue this story! I hope you enjoy this. Please R & R!**

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><p>Two inches. That's how narrowly I escape death. As he pulls the claw out of the ground, I run. I'm running by primal instinct. Fight or flight, and I have no fight left in me.<p>

It happened two earth days ago. Dib came without hiding. Angst, misery, depression, determination and fury drove him to the edge. Things had been going badly for him. He was tired of the insults, the rejection, the pain, and the loneliness. Pathetic creature. Because of all these sufferings, he'd begun to go crazy. And that was when he came up with the plan to steal the PAK.

He knew it'd give him the power he wanted. The device is quite an advantage. He'd also discovered my latest creation. The machine could alter an organism via another organism's traits. He found it. He got to it. The blindness of his anger made him impossible for me to stop.

He got what he wanted.

But it consumed him. All of the raw energy and power in his new PAK flowed through his inferior form. Whatever held him broke and his bloodlust began.

But he wasn't the only one harmed through that machine.

As I run I clench my right fist, trying to ignore it. But it's there. I can here Dib behind me, and I do the last thing I can. I duck into a narrow part in great chunks of what used to be a house. I can't see in the darkness, but I don't dare illuminate the place and give myself away. I listen, not breathing, as he passes. I do not move until long after the sounds of the metal legs disappear.

At last, I activate my PAK's emergency lamp. A hole in the floor leads down below the surface. I crawl in without hesitation. But the disguise goes on first. If there are humans down there, I can't be discovered now, of all times.

It's a long drop. It takes me five minutes of climbing to reach the bottom. When at last I do, I look around. Advanced technology lies dormant around the metal walls of the giant room. A light other than mine shines in the corner. A lone figure sits, hunched over it.

I go closer. Nothing can be more dangerous than going back up.

"Get out, Zim."

I can feel my squeedliy-spooch pound. "Tak."

She lifts her head, purple eyes glimmering mysteriously in the dim shimmer of the lamp. They narrow in anger. She hates me. Always has, always will. "Care to explain yourself?"

I slip off the wig and contact lenses. My hand closes, but I don't notice it. "It- this, eh, it's all-"

"Your fault," she finishes coldly. "It's always your fault."

"IT IS NOT ALWAYS MY FAULT!" How dare Tak, who wasn't even good enough to be an invader, say things were always my fault! But I did play a part in this. I bit my lip and said through clenched teeth, "But it partially is this time."

She snickers and awards me a sharp glare. "You were always an idiot, Zim, but I never thought you'd be stupid enough to do anything like this."

I clench my teeth. "Don't blame me for all of it. It was just my technology. Blame the Dib. He's the one destroying everything in sight."

"Really? And why would he go on a rampage? What was it that ruined his life?"

So she knew about his condition. "Mistreatment. Insults. No one caring for him."

"And why did they mistreat him?"

"He was crazy and annoying."

"What did he do that made them all think him a lunatic?"

"Tried to prove that-" I choke on the words and can't get them out.

Tak can obviously see my reaction, so she asks another question. "Who treated him the most horribly, out of anyone he'd ever known?"

I don't say it, because the guilt will just lie upon my soul and stay there, making me regret the things I couldn't. I don't want to take back what was for the sake of a mission.

"You know," she says, "cowards are the ones who walk away from things like this and won't tell the truth."

Zim is no coward! "Me. It's my fault. Happy? I mistreated the little pest-monster, wanted to kill him, almost succeeded. There! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR?"

She blinks as my shouts echo in the cold air, but says nothing.

"IS THAT IT? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR FROM A FREAK AND A DEFECT? SOMEONE WHO HAS ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING LEFT? I SAID IT! DEFECT! IT'S WHO I AM! I have… nothing. Nothing! YOU WANT ME TO REGRET EVERYTHING I STOOD FOR? WHAT ELSE CAN YOU POSSIBLY TAKE FROM ME?" Actually, there was one thing, but I can't say it.

She heaves a deep sigh. "You're different. Smarter. How'd you-"

"I just… found out. Looked through the Invader files the Tallest had-"

"How'd you find those?"

"You don't need to know. But I didn't see myself, and- well, I searched their database-"

"How did you get access to-"

"You don't need to know! But I found my file. I needed to only see the word 'defect' to turn away. The reason I've been given this difficult, top-secret mission is to prove I can do it. They nearly turned me down at the great assigning because they thought a defect couldn't do it."

Tak looks as if she knows more that she's letting on, but doesn't tell me. "You don't have nothing," she says. "What about that robot and the weird floating moose?"

"I can't find Minimoose. And GIR…" I try to breathe. "D-Dib has him. As hostage. To try to lure me out."

Tak looks into the distance. "You care about your SIR?"

I close my eyes and nod silently. The only family I have…

"Then we'll just have to find him."


	3. Rescue

"Find him?" I repeat. The small flicker of hope that I feel hardly lasts. How on Irk could I find him? More likely, both me and GIR would get killed. That wouldn't solve anything. I will NOT, even now, lose to Dib.

"Yeah, find him," says Tak. "We'll go out there and get him back from that big-headed psychopath."

"Wait, we?" I ask. "As in, you and me?"

"That's what _we_ means," she replies slowly, as if questioning my intelligence.

"Why would you do that? Why would you help me?"

She looks aside. "Look, as much as I want you dead, we're safer if there's more of us. We stand a better chance and, let's face it, destroying everything in sight seems to be second nature to you."

I ignore the insult. "But wouldn't we going there be giving Dib exactly what he wants? I mean, the whole purpose of taking GIR was to get me over there so he can kill me."

"Zim, you're an idiot. He won't know I'm there. Me or MiMi."

"MiMi?"

Tak claps twice and her red-eyed SIR emerges from the darkness. She's dented and scratched. The condition of the android leaves me thinking of her base's state.

"What happened here?"

She looks away from me. "The upper portion of the base was destroyed. And the real base didn't get away without damage. Most of the functions and power in this place don't work anymore. But at least I'm not stuck out there." She rises to her feet and beckons for MiMi. "Well, let's go."

"No." I can't- This won't happen on my watch. "Tak, you can't go. I'll get GIR myself. And if I die there, well, I did it saving him." I won't let that- that monster- I refuse to let anyone else get hurt.

Tak rolls her eyes. "You think I'm a coward? Invaders aren't cowards, Zim. It's not my fault I didn't get to take the test. I'm not backing down. If you want to stop me, go ahead and try. But it won't work." Her smirk of confidence both pains me and reassures me. Maybe- maybe she can do it.

"Alright. Let's do this."

Above ground, the sickening odor of smoke pains me. The fires, the pollution, the rubble and filth- it's hard to believe this is the result of a one-man attack. But he was supercharged by emotion and madness. Still, I clench my fist and try to breathe normally. Invaders aren't cowards.

Tak follows MiMi through the streets. I ask why.

"MiMi can identify your pathetic SIR's technological signature. Not that hard, when she was remote controlled by that annoying…thing."

I watch as MiMi leads the way, looking worried. She doesn't hesitate once as she moves quickly around piles of rubbish and debris. Eventually, she stops in front of a large warehouse. Tiny sounds echo from within. Faint voices, then a sudden shout that I'd know anywhere.

"I SAID I WANT TAQUITOS, BIGGY HEAD! GIMME MAH TAQUITOS!"

"SHUT UP!"

Then comes the sound of the blow. It echoes in my head, resounding in my magnificent brain, but then there comes the giggle. "YOU BE FUNNEH!"

…

"I hate you."

"I like you!"

I look to Tak, who was already moving toward the building. Those determined eyes are focused on what lies ahead. I follow in a half-daze, only to be pulled under a window by her.

"Why can't we just go in and blow him up?" I hiss.

Tak rolls her eyes. "If we just barge in, we risk not getting out. He's stronger then he looks. He's charged by insanity and power. We'll just wait until he leaves, break in, get your stupid SIR, and get out."

I'm silent for a moment. "Why are you helping me do this?"

"I told you before. We're safer together. Plus, I'm bored. I need something to do besides waiting in a wreck of a base."

She's as determined as ever.

The time drags by. GIR constantly chatters, and many screams of fury are heard from Dib. Occasionally I hear impact. But my henchman is never fazed for long; he just starts babbling again.

After a while, Tak peers inside the warehouse through the window. She grabs my hand and starts toward the entrance. "C'mon. He went into the other room. Now's our chance."

GIR, who is strapped to a steel table, sees us almost immediately and opens his mouth to shriek with joy. I shush him and talk in a fast, quiet voice. "GIR! Don't make a sound. If you do, Dib will come back and we'll all die."

GIR opens his mouth to reply when Tak shoots him a glare. "Don't talk, GIR. The meanie boy will come out and we'll get in trouble."

GIR nods stupidly in understanding. At least SOMEONE speaks his language. I shake my head and work to free him from his bounds.

He is free within seconds. We race toward the door, willing to give anything to be away from this horrible place. But just as we step out, GIR screams with all his might, "THANK YOU, MASTAH!"

The robotic legs pound behind us as we run. He's coming. I look back for an instant and see him; wild eyes filled with madness. We're going to die.

Tak shouts a command to MiMi, who shoots a large missile without so much effort as turning around. But the robotic legs still slam on the pavement, crashing through the remains of destroyed buildings.

I glance at GIR, who is running while laughing like a psychopath. Suddenly my gaze fixes on him. "GIR! Rockets! Now!"

"Okie-dokie!" he shouts gleefully, and I jump onto his back. Tak notices my plan and does the same. The SIRs activate their boosters, and we fly into the gray sky, away from imminent death.

After a while, we find a ruin that would make a good shelter. My hand aches from clutching onto GIR, and I try to relax it. But I can't. As everyone looks around, I thank God that I have gloves.

Tak arranges some flammable objects and ignites them, making a fire. Quietly I move toward it and warm myself. But deep down, I'm freezing.

And no one can ever know why.

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><p><strong>Well, THAT was a slow update. <strong>

**And if you're going to talk about Zim not really believing in God and staret critisizing me for it, who cares? When someone is in a situation such as war, there are no athiests. In a life-or-death situation, everyone needs hope. God brings hope and life, and that's what you need to carry on. **

**Thank you.**


	4. Offense

**FINALLY! I UPDATED SOMETHING! Sorry for all the hiatus latley, and thanks for sticking with me.**

**ATTENTION READERS OF THE INVADER ZIM SINGING CHALLENGE: The story is on a temporary hiatus whle I work on other writing projects, such as this and New Generations. Thank you for your patience. **

**Anyway, I've gotten more ideas for this fic, and it's going to go in a bit of a different direction. Please enjoy, and REVIEW!**

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><p>The next morning, Tak struts in the room in our hideout proudly. I raise a single antenna in the air. How could she be <em>happy<em> at a time like this?

GIR immediately sees MiMi and runs toward her, babbling about enchiladas or nachos or something of that nature. Why he gets so excited when he sees her is beyond me, not to mention how she tolerates him, but I'm not complaining. It's better than him poking me and asking if his macaroni is alive yet. Nonetheless, I'm glad to have him back.

Tak smirks at the sight of them going off on their own. "Well, looks like this morning is off to a good start. But it's about to get better."

"How?" I ask. "Is Dib gone?"

"No, he's still out there. But not for long. I stayed up all night working on a bomb. There are plenty of flammable substances out here, so if we place it carefully, he'll walk over it. It'll explode, and it'll all be over."

I let an evil grin pass my face. "Good. Finally, we get to be on the offensive side. So, what do we have to do?"

Tak walks a bit closer to the fire, which is barley burning, and tosses something into it. It livens up, warming the freezing gray room. "Simple. I'll place the bomb in a direct path to our hideout. We'll get GIR to lure him in; he's noisy enough. If he uses his rockets, he can fly over the bomb. Dib will step on it, and the rest is history."

"How do you know he'll step on it?"

She gestures over to a metal contraption the size of my Voot. "It'd be kind of hard not to step on it. If it's slightly underground, he won't see it."

I bite my lip and clench my fist. "Your plan is…excellent. But I don't want GIR out there. He's been through enough. I'll bring Dib in."

Tak nods slowly and walks outside. I follow her, and she shows me where she plans to bury the explosive. "Use your spider legs to maneuver around it. I'll have the area marked off with rocks. They'll form a square. It won't be too hard. Just extend the legs outside the perimeter."

"Won't he notice?"

"Zim. He's a lunatic. He won't notice."

Something about that statement gives me a chill. I nod and watch as she calls over MiMi, who drills a hole in the dirt. The bomb is lowered inside and covered with a thin layer of dirt. It's visible, but in the pandemonium of a chase combined with the rubble around us, Dib won't have a clue.

I turn to leave, but pivot on my foot to face my accomplice. "Stay inside. You'll know when I get here." Tak inclines her head in response, and I set off.

The streets are as gloomy as ever. Ever since the beginning of the nightmare, two days ago, the sky has been coated in a gray fog. The fires have gone out, the place desolate. When the first explosion went off and destroyed my house, the city was evacuated by the President Man and Dib's "genius" father. No one was harmed. No one but Tak, GIR, and me.

I look at my gloved hand as a pass the ruins of the library. It's ached ever since the fight at my base. He was trying to get into it, but I wouldn't let him. I grabbed him as it activated, and then…

Shaking the dark memory from my head, I hear it. It's raspy, muffled breathing, but I can't tell where it's coming from or how far away it is. This is it. I stand tall and prepare to run. "Dib."

No answer.

"Dib."

Still nothing.

"Dib! I know you're there. So why don't you face me instead of hiding like a coward?"

And then the spider legs shoot out from behind a rock, carrying the deranged fifteen-year-old in the center. With a mad shriek, he lunges for me as I bolt.

The ruined city flies by me as I activate my own spider legs and run. I've had far more experience than him, but he's fast. At one point I turn slightly to see him less than ten yards behind. How could he do that? It was…unnatural. Suddenly, I get the odd feeling that it's not just two of us involved in the chase.

After a few minutes of this, I'm knocked to the ground. The legs retract back into my PAK, and I'm faced with my enemy's psychotic face. I shoot him a smug grin. He's never getting the satisfaction of my fear.

"Hello, filth-bag."

Dib glares at me. "Shut up."

"Hm. Not very friendly, now, are we?"

He lowers himself down and slaps me in the face. In spite of the sting, I laugh. "I SAID SHUT UP!"

"What? You don't want my company? Then why is it that you chase me around like a cat and, what do you call that filthy rodent-creature…mouse?"

"Because," he growls. "You and I have some unfinished business."

"And that would be…?"

"I'm tired of you, Zim. You've gone far enough."

"Me? Look at you! Look at-"

I'm cut off by another blow. "IT'S YOUR FAULT! You're the bane of my existence, you monster. No one EVER treated me like I deserve. It's all because of you. Your time is up."

"Really?" I whisper. "Because it doesn't seem to be about your abuse anymore."

He's silent for a moment. But then the malicious grin spreads across his face. "Goodbye, Zim."

With him at such close range, I strike him with a metal leg. He staggers back, and I take the chance to run once again. With his furious howl, I move faster than ever before on the metal appendages. As does he.

It isn't long before I see the hut I currently call home, along with the sight of a gleaming purple eye in the window. Tak. Grinning, I take note of the rock square and take a flying leap over. In an instant, I crash through the shelter's window and look back. A steel leg, about forty feet ahead of the human, steps inside the deadly square-

And the bomb explodes.

A fiery inferno of heat and debris clouds the air. The plan is working all too well. Dib's bloodcurdling yell envelopes us in a single ear-piercing note. Something flies out of the rummage, growing larger but disappears from view. The scream stops and the fire ceases. It's over.

I look Tak in the eye. Both of us are actually surprised that the plan went so well. We did it. I run outside to see it for myself, Tak and the robots at my heels.

Something is off. The legs of his PAK, far longer than that of any other, were too far ahead of him. Tak had designed the bomb to be powerful in the center but weak on the exterior in order to protect us and our shelter…But it was still incredibly damaging.

Shock courses through all of us as we see the figure on the ground. Skinny, eyes closed, covered in ash and a bit of blood, a tattered black coat surrounding the torso. No PAK.

But Dib was still alive.


	5. Memory

I have no idea why Tak insists we bring him back. But as we carry him into our small, two-room hideout, I begin to see her line of reasoning. It's pitiful, really. Coated in soot, light, shaky breathing; he's a mess of a person. Thinking of what he accomplished forty-eight hours ago, I feel both triumphant and remorseful at the sight of him.

He's laid on the remains of an old couch. Tak moves to clean his wounds while I move away. I can't bear to stay here. Not with that monster.

I make myself busy. GIR comes outside with me, and we throw rocks into the bomb site to make sure it's safe. It is. Night is beginning to fall, but I won't go back inside. What do I have to worry about now, anyway? Walking around the ruins of the city, I try to push that first explosion out of my mind. However, whenever one tries to forget, they think about it more and more. I give up. Let the memory come. Let it come.

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><p><em>The computer called to Zim, who was adjusting the screws on his new machine. It still had to be tested, but it could give him a great advantage against the humans. Someone had broken in upstairs, it told the Irken. Irritable, he shouted for the Roboparents to annihilate the intruder and went back to his business. But a few minutes later, the computer notified Zim that the threat was moving down into the lower base. Surprised that it was coming this close, he readied his own defenses.<em>

_A black-haired teen stepped out of the elevator, a dangerous look across his face._

_Zim scoffed. Only Dib? No problem. "Really? You're still trying to get down here? You would have thought that you'd have learned after four years. Oh, well. Get out if you know what's good for you, Dib-filth."_

"_Shut up."_

_Zim cocked his head in surprise at his rival's serious tone. The shock quickly turned into anger. "WHAT? You DARE address your superior in such a fashion? Get out of my house! NOW!"_

_Dib moved forward, each step distinct and forceful. "You can't tell me what to do. I'm tired of being treated like dirt. This is my time." He reached out and stroked the side of the new machine._

"_Hey!" Zim called. "Don't touch that, you idiot! Do you even know what it does?"_

_The boy shot his enemy a smile. But unlike a true smile, this was an evil grin, dark and malevolent, signifying only one thing: madness._

_The alien knew that the other wasn't thinking straight. The pressure had closed in. He'd snapped. With this epiphany, Zim's eyes grew wide with horror. "Dib…? What are you-" _

_But he activated the device. Dib laughed evilly and victoriously as the machine came to life. Zim screamed and reached out with his right hand. He'd just grabbed the boy's collar when the machine exploded and blew him back. _

_A few moments later, they both awakened. Zim opened his eyes to see his deranged enemy with a PAK on his back. He lifted his hand only to feel a sudden stab of excruciating pain. He raised it to his face and gasped. The glove had been burned off; his once green skin was scorched black. Scars ran up and down the area in an ugly pattern. Each of the three fingers was dark and shaded in various black hues. Shaking at the sight of his burned hand, he knew that this was a scar that would never heal. _

_Turning back to his foe, he saw that Dib had taken GIR and was holding him by the antenna. The robot screamed for his master, but the boy just laughed. Zim got up and ran. It was his only choice. He'd just gotten outside when the house was blown to bits._

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><p>And that's how I got here. I'd slipped on another glove on the injury during a pause in the chase and resolved never to remove it again. What would they say if they saw it? The other Irkens would laugh at the scars, given to me by such a weak opponent! An opponent who currently was dead to the world. And Tak…<p>

"Master?"

I glance down to see GIR staring up at me hopefully.

"Master? I'm hungry. Can we go back home? Ms. Tak promised me that dinner would be reeeally yummy tonight. Plus, it's gettin' cold…"

I pick him up and smile weakly. It's dark now. I've spent hours wallowing in my thoughts. "Sure, GIR. Let's go home."

When we arrive, Dib is awake. He looks panicked for some reason. But aside from a mixture of shock, disbelief, and terror, I see sanity in his eyes. He seems to be normal again, for whatever reason.

At the sound of footsteps, he looks around frequently, as if trying to find something. "Wha-?"

"Huh. Seems you're finally up," I grunt. I don't know why, but I have no pity left for him. Maybe it's the memory.

"Zim?"

"Who does it look like? Moron."

He lowers his head despondently and says nothing.

I roll my eyes and walk toward them. "Where were you?" she asks irritably.

"I checked to make sure it was safe outside."

"For four hours?"

"Hey, it's fine, don't get mad at me."

Dib looks up, wide-eyed. "You mean it's gone?"

Tak narrows her eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"The PAK."

I slap my forehead. "For crying out loud, I never thought you'd be this stupid! Of course it's gone. It got blown off your back, didn't it?"

He begins to quiver. "N-no. It's not about that. I know it's off, but… I don't know how it happened, but it's out there. It has a mind of its own."

"How on earth could a machine do that?"

"I said I don't know…"

I gulp. "Uh, actually, it could. That machine in my lab… I'd never tested it. It could have all sorts of effects that I don't even know about." I spit in Dib's direction. "Nice move, genius."

Tak shakes her head and shoots me a stern glare. "I think it's time for you to be quiet."

The next few days are spent building up defenses against our possible new threat, and, of course, helping the human recover. Whatever went on with him the last few days, it wasn't good. His steps are tentative once he feels strong enough to walk, and even so, he's the biggest klutz I've ever seen. Constantly tripping and bumping into things, even the walls. Eventually, he begins walking around with GIR frequently, his hand's circulation cut off by the metal claw. He seems happiest when GIR babbles nonsensical speeches to him. A few times he laughs. But when he's alone, he'll wave a hand in front of his face, sigh, and hang his head.

I'm glad Tak and I are busy figuring out a plan for our survival. I don't have to see Dib much, and I appreciate it just being the two of us. Besides, destroying things is automatically amusing to me.

One day, while looking for scrap metal, I see it. A figure, obviously inhuman. I draw closer, recognizing the silver and blue marks as those of the PAK. So it is real, and evolved to something different from anything I'd ever seen. It turns slightly in my direction, and I take off. If it's anything as bad as what I last faced, I DEFINITLEY don't want to be near it.

I return late. Just as I'm about to enter the pitch-black hut, I hear hushed voices. Tak and Dib. Silently, I draw closer to the window and listen.

"I don't know what to do. It's been half a week and it hasn't gotten any better."

"Don't worry."

"I can't help it. I think it's gone for good..."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not! I just… How can I live like this?"

"I don't know. But we'll help you. You're going to be all right. Now, go to sleep."

I wait until they've been silent for a few minutes before entering. I place the metal in the corner and move over to the closest I have to a bed. Irkens don't need to sleep, but I have been. I, personally, feel like I have to.

I can't help feeling envy. Tak has never, and I mean NEVER, spoken to anyone like that. I'd always known her as vengeful and full of spite, not caring or compassionate. And toward HIM, of all people… She'd changed. She also told me that I'd changed. I guess nothing will ever be the same.

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><p><strong>So, what'd you think? If you can guess what's happening with Dib, YOU GET A FREE NONEXISTENT GIANT MUFFIN! YAY! <strong>


	6. Chances

The next night, the world is quiet. The air is cool and refreshing after a day of hard work. Fireflies dot the sky, and the fire inside gives off a delicate glow. I sit outside and close my eyes. This night is almost perfect.

If only I wasn't spending it with Dib.

Tak needed 'alone time', which I've come to recognize as a common female behavioral pattern (I still don't understand girls), and requested that we leave. And of course by 'requested', I mean she shoved us out the door screaming. And by 'us', I mean me. The human just followed with his usual clumsiness.

And now we rested on a hill overlooking the ruin. Opening one eye, I glare at him as he stares into space, as if in a daze. Finally, he speaks. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For not leaving me," he replies.

His comments catch me off guard. Thanking his greatest enemy? Nonetheless, the surprise quickly fades, dissolving into more anger. "You don't deserve it."

A hurt expression crosses his face. "I'm sorry."

"As you should be."

"I wasn't thinking-"

"Obviously."

He sighs. "I don't remember most of it. Everything after the fight at your base until the explosion is a blur. So, thanks for taking me in."

I grunt in response.

A long pause follows. Neither of us knows what to say, and I'm grateful. I don't want to have any more unnecessary interaction with him. But, of course, he goes and ruins it again.

"I'm sorry if I'm being an inconvenience…"

"It's not that you're an inconvenience, which you are. The problem is that you're the worst human being alive, and I'm forced to come into contact with you."

He recoils slightly. "Why do you hate me?"

"Are you serious? You destroyed my home and nearly killed me and my family, and not to mention Ta- everyone else in you know."

"But-"

"You think you can say anything in your own defense? Think about everything you've done! In a fit of madness, you destroyed a large portion of your city, and would have done so with the people here, too, if they hadn't had the sense to evacuate. And it's all your fault for losing your temper and breaking into my lab to give yourself a chance at revenge. And then you had the nerve to kidnap my assistant-my ONLY FAMILY- and use him to try and kill me! You're the worst of your kind, Dib, the WORST!"

He bites his lip. "How bad was it?" he whispers.

"HOW BAD WAS IT?" I spit, leaping from my seat on the cold ground. "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, THIS WHOLE PLACE IS RUIN! LOOK AROUND YOU!"

He trembles. "I can't-"

"YOU CAN'T TELL HOW HORRIBLE YOU ARE? IDIOT!"

"No-"

I jump on top of him. We wrestle. I'm done with him, I'm _done_. He doesn't deserve to live. He's no match for me. Soon he's sprawled on the ground, no fire in his eyes. He closes them and makes out: "I just want to make things right."

"You can't," I growl.

"I want to- have paid enough."

"You haven't paid anything! If anything, you've only increased your debt. Now…" I raise a sharp rock shard over his heart. "…say goodbye."

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?"

I drop the rock at the sound of Tak's voice. Her glare sets on me. "Get- off- him." I do so. "Come with me."

I follow her into the hut, stewing in my anger.

"What was that?" she snaps.

I grind my teeth together. "I'm tired of him. He's a fool."

"How so?"

"Well, there's the reason we're into this mess in the first place."

"You really think he could help insanity? But there's more reason for you than that. You would've tried to pull that stunt long before now if there wasn't."

"Out there- he was pathetic. Whining about 'making things right'. He can't. Not after everything he's done." I reply. "And he asked how bad it was. Of all the stupid questions… And then he couldn't see how horrible of a person he was."

She's silent for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know, do you? I could hear you guys. He's paid more than you know. He genuinely wants to make it all better. Give him a chance."

I take a step closer. "Why are YOU giving him a chance?"

Her eyes widen in surprise.

I continue, filled with anger. "You never give anyone a second chance! Because of something that happened YEARS ago, you wanted to destroy me and take my 'mission.' You've never given me another chance, so why are you giving one to the person who ruined your life AND your home?"

She looks me in the eye and a chill runs down my spine. "I'm not like that anymore. I've learned. People do deserve a second chance if they want to make things right. Even if they don't."

I look away. "You've never given one to me."

"I'm doing it right now."

"Wha-?"

"What do you think I was doing when you and I met at my base?" I want her to grin in that knowing way of hers, but the scowl remains on her face. "I think you need to learn to forgive, too." She nods her head toward the door leading outside. Toward the monster.

"No." I snap. "Not him. Do you have any clue what he's done to me? TO everyone? I am NEVER GOING TO FORGIVE HIM. We forgive people if they deserve it. He doesn't. He's evil, Tak, evil! The scum of the universe, the worst of his kind! HE'S A DEMON. He's never paid anything to get out of what he owes. You're wrong about that. Dib is just the same monster he always was, only more deadly."

Despite my fit, she holds my gaze. "Zim, Dib is blind."

* * *

><p><strong>Congratulations to TheAwesomenessThatIsMe1222 and PeppermintWolfs for guessing Dib's new weakness! NONEXISTENT GIANT MUFFINS FOR YOU! And, yes, Cylonblze, you get one, too!<strong>

**By the way, I just wanted to make something perfectly clear: YOU ALWAYS FORGIVE SOMEONE. Especially if they may not deserve it.**


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